In the paper "Mythologies.

Média Diffusion", Roland Barthes (2015), in the chapter Myth as a

semiological system argues that mythology is part of the semiological science in terms of the
study of the signifier and signified, with the aim of providing an explanation to the relationship
that exists between objects and what they signify, but adds a third element: the sign,
In that sense, for the mythological structure of the picture it is necessary to point out the
main elements: the flag, the color of the flag, the T-shirt of the character, his clothing and his
body expression. However, Barthes (2015) indicates that before analyzing each term it is
necessary to analyze the terminology, (p. 115). The strongest element in the image is the
photograph of Ernesto Guevara, an Argentine guerrilla fighter who became a symbol of the
struggle of poor peoples and social movements in Latin America.
Thus, this story and the set of values represented by the figure of Ernesto "CHE"
Guevara allow us to understand that in this example, the flag and the T-shirt have taken the
value of signs as materials of the mythical discourse, and this mythical discourse operates as a
sum of signs (Barthes, 2015, p. 113). However, this mythical discourse can be interpreted in two
ways. First, the flagpole shows that its elaboration was handcrafted, alluding that the person
belongs to a soaicl class with limited resources, and his clothing together with his body
language indicate that he is defending some social cause.
On the other hand, the same image may represent the inclusion of this character and this
social struggle in the capitalist system, because the image of "CHE" Guevara is now
commercialized around the world as a commodity. Therefore, this true and real image is not
presented as a lie nor as a confession, but as a myth since this image needs all the elements
mentioned above in order to convey a meaning.

In the article "Framing Effects of Television News Coverage of Social Protest" by

Douglas M. McLeod and Benjamin H. Detenber (1999), the authors highlight the active
participation of the media as a "watchdog" (McLeod and Benjamin, 1999, p. 5), which is in
charge of maintaining order and supporting the status quo. In this sense, the manipulation of
information becomes a very useful tool for the construction of discourses.
For example, analyzing the first news story of the social protest, it can be identified that
the culprits of the violence were the demonstrators who provoked the protests and indirectly
show the police as a hero who has to dominate the enemy. Also, the number of injured officers
and the number of people arrested are mentioned to show that the police are doing their job and
to determine the culprits of the social destabilization. This news, in an evident way, is shown in
support of the political power of the moment.
In the second news story, despite mentioning the problems arising from racism in the
country, and treating the group of manistenates in a certain positive way, the news indicates that
the violence continues because the protests continue, this influences the perception of the
audience because it actively constructs meanings through many sources (McLeod and
Benjamin, 1999, p. 18).
Therefore, although in this example the news does not directly support the status quo, it
also does not show itself to be against it and uses the information in such a way that political
power is not affected.

References

Barthes, R., 2015 Mythologies. Média Diffusion.

McLeod, D.M. and Detenber, B.H., 1999 Framing effects of television news coverage of social
protest. Journal of communication, 49(3), pp.3-23.